Gary watched as the Slezak brothers show everyone how to change their avatar. He nodded as he took out his e-Handbook. He turned it on and then tapped the 'Start' button. He was then presented with a list of species to pick from.

"Hmmm.... Oh, werewolf looks interesting. I think I read a book about a main character who is a werewolf. I wonder if this will allows me to experience what it's like to be a werewolf....?" Gary asked no one in particular as he tapped the werewolf and continued.

Just then, Gary felt a strange energy coursed throughout his body. "My body is starting to feels weird... What's going on?!" Gary shouted, confused by what was going on. And then.... The energy vanished as soon as it have occurred. "That was weird... Just what was that just now?"

Suddenly, Gary held up one of his arms to see if anything have happened when the mysterious energy coursed throughout his body. He was shocked to see that his arm is now tanner than his normal skin color. And to top it off, his arm seems to have more hair on it. The same thing happened to his other arm.

"Uh..." Gary said, confused by his own arms. He didn't even notice that he is taller than his normal height.

Remeku brought up her customization page and smiled. She knew what she wanted to be, she got it from an anime she loved called, Sword Art Online, and it had a season where their all elves. It looked pretty crazy. Witch is Remeku's style. She clicked elf for her species. All of a sudden pointy ears replaced her normal human ears making her jump. She lightly touched the tip of them and smiled with happiness. "This is so cool! Haha!" Remeku said as she went back to the e-Handbook. She picked Dark as her element and special element. She felt her aura get strong and gloomy. Her head swayed slowly from the change in the atmosphere. As her weapon, she automatically chose something of her own. She doesn't leave anywhere without her potions so she put, potions, as one of her weapons and a sword as her main weapon. Of course, it was just for show, so it was a prop. She wanted to go with a InuYasha style. After a while of choosing clothes, she finally put her e-Handbook away. She had a black romper on with no shoes. Her hair was pure white and was longer than usual. Her prop sword was in a case on her hip.

-----

Kirimi already had his e-Handbook and clicked on Vampire for his Species. "Ugh....!" Kirimi felt a sharp pain on his lip. He looked down and noticed two sharp fangs that had accidentally pierced his bottom lip. "well this is going to take a while to get use to" Kirimi said as he looked back at his e-Handbook. He picked Fire and Water for his elements. He like the idea of two opposite elements coming together. He smiled happily as he had a green long sleeved shirt with long black pants with a dark green hat that almost covered his right eye. "It's just like Simon!" Kirimi said, Simon being a magical character from an anime, Nature's Hasumatsu.

-----

Lumica looked down at her e-Handbook and quickly put what she wanted. Species as Angel. Light and Earth as elements. Heart necklace as armor. She chose a purple dress as her outfit, nothing out of the ordinary. She started to fly in the air witch made her feel weird. "Woah! This is super cool! Hehe~" She started to fly in circles happily.

Isaiah entered the lab and put on the headgear. Almost instantly, he awoke in the virtual world. He looked around, completely awestruck by the world around him. It was a long time before he realized the others were customizing their avatars. He nervously approached Austin. "E-Excuse me..how to we customize our avatars?"

"Oh? You missed the demonstration?" Austin asked. "Well, you should be able to use your E-handbook to customize your appearance. Here, let me show you." He showed Isaiah how to customize his avatar in a slow and careful manner, scrolling through every species option and showing him how to change his outfit. Then, he noticed the changes to Gary's appearance. He gave him a smile.

"I see you chose Werewolf. That's my own preferred species. It'd be awfully expensive to keep up if not for me making our outfits free, though, what with how they rip every time you transform. It won't be a worry for now, though. I set the world to not transition to nighttime."

He glanced at Kirimi.

"Which is why Vampires are not weak to sunlight in this world. I didn't want anyone to have to stick to the shade or anything for this. The need for the Vampire to drink blood has been turned off as well." And then Flo asked if there was a lake nearby.

"Ah, yeah, though I should probably move it closer considering some people are not wearing convenient traveling clothes." He smiled and pulled up his blue screen. A lake the shape of a mirror formed before the group after he finished typing. Cat had been in such awe, she had been quiet as Austin spoke, but now she gasped.

"W-wow. I really do look different! Th-this is the most extravagant thing I've worn since . . . !"

She stopped speaking and looked thoughtful. And then some excited screaming pulled her out of her reverie. It was Lida.

She had come into the world a bit late, as she initially put her headgear on backwards, but she had caught some of the brothers' tutorial. And so off she went, making herself a Light Fairy, changing her outfit to a green sundress as well. She shrank to the size of a hand, grew wings, and her hair became lighter . . . and she grew more excited with each change. Her vision had even been corrected in this world. Gone was the need for glasses!

"Eeee!!! I'm so tiny! How do you maintain such detail?! Ohmygosh, this is just like the Secret World of Arrietty!"

"Thank you." Isaiah thanked Arthur and pulled out his own handbook and flipped it open. He decided to stick with Human as his avatar's species. For outfits, he picked something similar to his normal attire - a long-sleeve gray tunic with a gold-colored lining along the neckline and cuffs, standard black pants, and black boots.

Once Isaiah had finished, his previous outfit faded away, now replaced by his new apparel. He smiled as he examined his new look.

............................................Hi

Last edited by Blinky on Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Sayako gasped audibly as she entered the game world; Austin's brief description and her ridiculously limited knowledge regarding virtual reality had in no way prepared her for what awaited her on the other side of the helmet. She simply gazed around at her surroundings in stunned silence until Sakura ran up to her. "Oh, wow, beautiful," she breathed, finally finding her voice again. "I'd no idea virtual reality had advanced this much, did you?" she asked the other girl.

"...I wonder if this system could be used for a dating sim." The coupler blinked, then giggled oddly as her cheeks brightened. "T-this technology could be devastating in the wrong hands," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

Her ears perked at the talk of customization. "Changing our appearance...? Hmm... W-what do you think, Sakura? Should we?"

"I think it looks very nice. There is nothing wrong with looking like royalty." He flashed a smile. Then he overheard Sayako mention this system as a dating sim. This caused Austin to chuckle softly.

"Well, I don't know about dating sim, but I did have someone in particular in mind when I made this world." His expression softened. "I had even designed a romantic spot for us if I -- If she ever plays this game when I finish it."

He seemed to stare off into space for a moment, then shook his head to jerk himself out of it. "Anyway, when the game is finished, it should be able to conform to aspects of any game genre you prefer. It should be able to become whatever you make it. Though it is still going to be classified as 'MMO RPG.' I still have to work on the combat, which is why that isn't available yet, and I need the game to be able to not crash if large numbers of people play at a time, which I don't think I have accomplished yet. There are also sensory things that glitch from time to time and . . . I'm rambling aren't I? Ehehehe . . . Sorry."

"A-Ah! I have to be honest. I have always wanted a fairy companion. Blonde hair, green clothes... I am halfway tempted to change to Elf and become the Hero of Time...ahaha," Jeremy explained, now in quite a jovial mood. "Of course you may use my shoulder as a perch. U-U-Um..." Jeremy seemed a bit flustered as he turned his head in order to see Lida. He reached his other hand up and gently patted her head with his finger.

---

At Sayako's mentioning of a dating sim, Jay's mind began to wander as he remembered someone who hadn't shown up yet. He had not had much chance to spend time with her after returning from break. Jay reminisced on the time she, Austin, and he were discussing species of vampires. He hoped that she would join them eventually and realize what Austin had been putting all his work into.

---

Mikael flinched slightly as Remeku's hand touched his shoulder. He could feel a dark aura emanating from her. "A-A-Ah! I-It's fine, Remmy. It w-worried me a bit, but once I gain a bit m-more confidence, I'll talk to you about anything you w-want." Mikael smiled. Because he'd become one with water, his form shimmered in the sunlight. Mikael placed his hands on each of Remeku's shoulders and asked, "R-Remmy...how do I look...to you? How do I fe-aaah!" Mikael had felt himself being drawn closer and, realizing it, pulled his hands away from Remeku's shoulders and stepped back. "I'm really sorry! I d-don't know what came over me...I-I must feel strange, being made of water now and all."

Sayako gasped audibly as she entered the game world; Austin's brief description and her ridiculously limited knowledge regarding virtual reality had in no way prepared her for what awaited her on the other side of the helmet. She simply gazed around at her surroundings in stunned silence until Sakura ran up to her. "Oh, wow, beautiful," she breathed, finally finding her voice again. "I'd no idea virtual reality had advanced this much, did you?" she asked the other girl.

"...I wonder if this system could be used for a dating sim." The coupler blinked, then giggled oddly as her cheeks brightened. "T-this technology could be devastating in the wrong hands," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

Her ears perked at the talk of customization. "Changing our appearance...? Hmm... W-what do you think, Sakura? Should we?"

Sakura shook her head to the first question. "No, I'd never realised we could do anything even close to this. Like something straight out of an anime. You would think of a dating sim as a use-case, though." She added, giggling. "Though... ohh, just imagine how great this would be for long-distance couples! Forget dating sims, they could go on actual dates with each other, even from opposite ends of the Earth!"

"We should definitely have fun changing up our appearances, though! It'll be like cosplaying, but on a whole new level!" Sakura then said excitedly. She looked around at the new forms some of the others were taking, taking particular delight in Rosalida's minuscule appearance and Mikael's all-water body. Hearing that Gary was a werewolf, she glanced over and was surprised by the transformation - the extra height and hairiness made him look older than he was, an odd look for him. "Yeah, wow, just look at all this! Seems there's plenty of options to choose from, too."

She began flicking through the options on the handbook, keeping her choices a secret until they were finalised. Once set, she felt an odd sensation as her body changed and her brain struggled to keep up. She soon acclimatised, however, and did a small spin to show off her new appearance. She had chosen to be a dryad, a tree nymph, and so her skin had taken on a green tint, her hair had returned to its natural brown, and her ears had become pointed. Accenting the look were small pieces of bark around her body, and red and pink flowers woven into her hair to take the place of the dye. She still held the flower from before, and tucked it behind her ear with another giggle. "See, isn't this wonderful?" She exclaimed, holding her arms up to examine their new hue and the bark placed around them.

Having heard what Austin said about the werewolf class, Gary looked at his arms. "Well, I suppose I'll keep this in mind. It'll be the first time I'll get to experience how it felt like to transform into a werewolf when nighttime come around." Gary commented before he went over to the lake.

Upon reaching the lake, Gary took a look at his reflection and was surprised by what he saw. His brown hair have grown longer, having reached just below his neck. And the hair dye was gone, and in its place was... a vine which was entangled in the hair.. Gary reached up to touch the vine to make sure it was a real vine. And it was indeed a real vine. "I guess that's the natural version of my 'hair dye'. I'd imagine hair dye would make a werewolf looks.... tacky. Or something along that line."

As he looks at his reflection, he finally noticed that he is taller than his normal height. 'I wonder if that's how tall I'll be when I become an adult...?" Gary asked no one in particular.

Arthur glanced apprehensively at the headset and idly wondered what control he'd have over his physical body after he was "inside". He idly wondered to himself about whether that popular show where people were trapped in a game similar to this one for years, and decided, just in case, to unlock the door to his room.

"I'm being silly. There's no way we couldn't get back to our real bodies in case of emergency, right? It's a safety thing I'm sure they built into it..." he chided himself. But he didn't lock the door.

He put on the headgear, laid himself down on his bed, and activated the headgear.

After a flash of light and a little logo pop-up, he made it to the character creation screen. He'd never cared for this, so he picked a race that he thought suited him, and went with the default character. However, as he saw the character move as he moved, he thought, "...wait, this isn't quite right. Lemme just change this one thing and then I'll enter."

Several hours, and race changes later, he finally entered the game world. He looked very much like himself, but with paler skin, and shoulder-length silver-white hair. Oh, and the pointed ears he couldn't un-point if he wanted to be an elf.He reasoned that he should be recognizable, at least, otherwise things could be confusing early on.

He shielded his eyes from the virtual sun, which was much harsher than the dim flat lighting of the character creation screen.

He walked up to what he hoped were his friends, but upon closer inspection, he could begin to make out details of each person, and slowly began to pick up cues.

He cautiously approached who he was pretty sure were Sakura and Sayako, only to find Sakura morph into a form almost entirely different from what she was just a moment ago.

Mikael flinched slightly as Remeku's hand touched his shoulder. He could feel a dark aura emanating from her. "A-A-Ah! I-It's fine, Remmy. It w-worried me a bit, but once I gain a bit m-more confidence, I'll talk to you about anything you w-want." Mikael smiled. Because he'd become one with water, his form shimmered in the sunlight. Mikael placed his hands on each of Remeku's shoulders and asked, "R-Remmy...how do I look...to you? How do I fe-aaah!" Mikael had felt himself being drawn closer and, realizing it, pulled his hands away from Remeku's shoulders and stepped back. "I'm really sorry! I d-don't know what came over me...I-I must feel strange, being made of water now and all."

Remeku stared at Mikael for a moment. She giggled at him suddenly freaking out. "Mikey, it's okay! Well, you look like a glob of water in the shape of human Mikey. So, you look like your normal self, but as water. You feel like a physical thing of water. Like, you're water, but you can be touched without going through you. Unless you turn into, actual, water." Remeku fell silent for a while. "I'm making no s-since..." Remeku scratched her head. "Are you okay? I wonder... what does it feel like to be water...?" Remeku asked Mikael, looking at him curiously.

Felicity woke up quite late that day, having went to bed equally late at night. She had managed to sleep through the morning announcement, so unaware of what was going on, she went to the dining hall, only to find the place devoid of people.

"Where is everybody?" She wondered aloud, taking out her e-Handbook from her bag and looking through it in hopes to find an answer to her question. But finding nothing in her quick look, she put it back, instead trying to think through what could have happened.

'Let's see... Professor Slezak said there was going to be an event today, and that Austin had something to show everybody, if I'm remembering that right. I don't think they'd have gone outside the academy, but Professor Slezak did say that everybody could use 'an escape'... Well, I guess I just have to look through the rooms here, before thinking of the other possibility.' With that, she left the hall, deciding to check out the auditorium first - surely that was a good place to show stuff?

Quite some minutes later, Felicity reached the Research Wing. She had ignored most of the first floor, except for the Lecture Wing and the Creative Wing, and by luck, had chosen this wing as the first one on the second floor to look through.

Tired and hoping that her search wasn't a complete waste, she wandered the wing, stumbling upon Computer Lab 2...

And almost let out a scream seeing everyone knocked out, all of them wearing helmets.

"Hey, guys?" Felicity called, cupping her hands around her mouth. No response. She walked into the room, her breathing shallow with how tensed she was. She found more of the helmets lying in the room and cautiously approached them.

'Should I? But the others did it, and it was probably by Austin... maybe it's related to dreaming or something, and that's why everybody looks asleep? What if it didn't work right and that's why it's like this now? If this is really harmful though, with my luck, my helmet alone would be defective...' She argued with herself for a bit more before she finally decided to try the headgear on. She examined how the others were wearing theirs, then took one. Sitting down on one of the vacant couches, Felicity put it on.

~~~

Her vision of the room faded away, replaced by... a grassy ground and clear skies? And everybody who she had just seen passed out in the lab - or maybe not, since roughly three-fourth of them were noticeably different from the people she had known. A winged Lumica, a cat/human-hybrid Catherine... and was that brown-haired dryad Sakura?!

She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. Nope, still the same. Sayako was next to Sakura too, and somebody who looked somewhat like Arthur.

If Sayako was part of all this weird stuff as well... out of the people she could approach now, that only left Jeremy and Jay. Taking in a deep breath, Felicity walked up to Jay and bluntly asked him, "Is this a dream, a nightmare or a hallucination? Or have I missed a related option?"

"A-Ah...yeah, I'm fine. M-Maybe a bit overwhelmed b-because of how new all this is, s-so I'm feeling a bit more e-emotional, ehehe..." Unable to hold back a giggle, Mikael blushed, which turned his cheeks more of a purple than red because of his watery form, "I-I dunno if it's 'cause of the species I chose or what...hehe...b-but sometimes things like that happen that I don't...ahaha...consciously mean to do." Mikael held his chin in thought for a moment. "As f-for how it feels to be w-water...well, it feels like I c-can move a lot better than before, and th-that uncomfortable feeling wh-when you get wet? I-It doesn't bother me at all now. I-I'm not a-afraid of water one bit. In f-fact, I'm kinda attracted...ehehe...to it~!" As he finished his explanation, Mikael caught a glimpse of the mirror lake Austin had created. Motioning for Remeku to follow, he began running towards it.

---

As Jay continued to ponder, he noticed someone appearing in the distance. The blonde hair caught his attention immediately. Seeing how bewildered she looked, combined with how late she had arrived, Jay had a somewhat terrifying thought.

As she ran over to him and asked her question, Jay responded, "F-Felicity! You didn't hear the morning announcement? I could've sworn we recorded those to the e-Handbook...you must've been worried sick when you walked in on us all unconscious wearing those helmets. Anyway, this is definitely not a nightmare, though it is a dream come true and might be classified as a hallucination. Um, let me explain."

Jay began to tell Felicity about the events of that morning, how everyone was invited to the computer lab where Austin wanted to demonstrate the virtual world he'd been working on and about the various customization options people could choose.

"Here, let me show you," Jay said as he took out his handbook and brought up the customization screen, hoping Felicity was following along. He tapped on the species tab. "That's all the different things you can be. Tapping on each one will bring up a short description and change the avatar off to the side there accordingly. Most species even have subspecies, allowing you to alter your appearance even further. I'm pretty excited to see what you decide on!" Jay smiled and hoped his explanation was adequate. He decided to tap on 'Detailed Customization' and explore the different things in there.

"A-Ah...yeah, I'm fine. M-Maybe a bit overwhelmed b-because of how new all this is, s-so I'm feeling a bit more e-emotional, ehehe..." Unable to hold back a giggle, Mikael blushed, which turned his cheeks more of a purple than red because of his watery form, "I-I dunno if it's 'cause of the species I chose or what...hehe...b-but sometimes things like that happen that I don't...ahaha...consciously mean to do." Mikael held his chin in thought for a moment. "As f-for how it feels to be w-water...well, it feels like I c-can move a lot better than before, and th-that uncomfortable feeling wh-when you get wet? I-It doesn't bother me at all now. I-I'm not a-afraid of water one bit. In f-fact, I'm kinda attracted...ehehe...to it~!" As he finished his explanation, Mikael caught a glimpse of the mirror lake Austin had created. Motioning for Remeku to follow, he began running towards it.

Remeku smiled and followed. The water had a perfect reflection of herself like it was never water in the first place. She came up with something all of a sudden. She took a light pink potion out of her potion bag and sipped some of it. She slowly started to step in the water. Instead of falling through it, she walked on it. "Yay! It works!" Remeku giggled. She put her potion back into her bag and started running around on water like she was a goddess.

After having examined his reflection, Gary stood up and turns towards the group. He then noticed that Felicity have entered the world and is currently with the group. He went over to the group, looking forward to talking to Felicity.

"Hey, Felicity! Isn't this virtual world amazing?!" Gary declared as he approached Felicity who seems to be in a conversation with Jay. Then he realized that Felicity was probably taken aback by Gary's new appearance.

"Ahahaha... I'm a werewolf... Or technically, I'm a werewolf in human form. It's obvious what make me a werewolf." Gary explained as he lifts one of his arms up for Felicity to look at. "I didn't think the werewolf class would make my skin be tanner and hairy. Not to mention that I'm taller than my normal height."

Completely uncharacteristic to how he used to act, Mikael ran at a full sprint towards the lake. As he approached it, he tumbled forward and performed a few gymnastic front flips. He leapt into the air, did a half twist, and shouted "Yahoooo~!" before submerging head-first into the water, creating no splash whatsoever. As more and more of his body fell below the surface, it completely disappeared, rendering him invisible. Incessant giggling could be heard beneath the water. Mikael seemed to be having the time of his life.

Remeku kept running and running in the water. She was having so much fun that she forgot the time limit for the potion. "Aaa-...!" Remeku fell into the water with a small splash that followed her. She swam up to the surface until she could breath again. She got out of the water and noticed that she was barely wet. She smiled. "I saw that one coming. All thanks to me adding that side effect." Remeku said shaking her head back and forth to get the access water out of her hair.

As she ran over to him and asked her question, Jay responded, "F-Felicity! You didn't hear the morning announcement? I could've sworn we recorded those to the e-Handbook...you must've been worried sick when you walked in on us all unconscious wearing those helmets. Anyway, this is definitely not a nightmare, though it is a dream come true and might be classified as a hallucination. Um, let me explain."

"Um... no, I didn't," Felicity answered. "I was asleep then. If it was recorded on the handbooks, though, uh, I probably should've found it then. But I'm not really good at going through it yet..." Her cheeks turned pink. "I-I only know how to use the maps and the public roster well enough. It's not that I'm bad with technology or anything! Just... I haven't used the handbook that much." At the mention of the state of everybody in the lab, she winced. "That definitely wasn't the best of things to see in the morning..."

She attentively - and in silence - listened to Jay's explanation, from what had happened that day to the breakdown of how to change her species. "Austin, he was planning an RPG with vampires and all. Is that- was this what he was talking about?" Letting out a sigh, she looked around again. "This is all just a created world, huh?" Felicity sat on the ground and pressed her right hand to the grass. "But it feels so real..."

She still seemed quite disorientated from everything, just gazing down and idly picking blades of grass. Realising she could probably look unenthusiastic to what Austin had made with loads of effort (from everything she could see), she hastily added, "It's not that I don't think this isn't exciting or pretty cool. I do. I just- I think I need some time to let it sink in." She glanced up at Jay. "I guess you and everybody else are handling it better 'cause you were there for the announcement and stuff?"

Hanzo Shimada wrote:

"Hey, Felicity! Isn't this virtual world amazing?!" Gary declared as he approached Felicity who seems to be in a conversation with Jay. Then he realized that Felicity was probably taken aback by Gary's new appearance.

"Ahahaha... I'm a werewolf... Or technically, I'm a werewolf in human form. It's obvious what make me a werewolf." Gary explained as he lifts one of his arms up for Felicity to look at. "I didn't think the werewolf class would make my skin be tanner and hairy. Not to mention that I'm taller than my normal height."

At the unexpected greeting, Felicity startled, turning to look at the speaker. "Wh-who? Wait, G-Gary?" She asked as she got a closer look. "Yeah, it is," she replied, standing up and brushing off the stray grass and dirt on her dress.

And then he just dropped that he was a werewolf. "Um, well, okay," she mumbled. "Though you don't really have to add the 'in human form' part, you know - I'm pretty sure 'werewolf' can be used for humans who can turn into wolves too. But what do you mean, what makes you a werewolf? Are you talking 'bout how to be a werewolf, or how to identify one? ...oh, I guess it's the latter?" She added when he raised his arm. "That's one way to differentiate, for sure."

As Remeku fell into the water, Mikael poked his head out. "R-Remmy...!" he called out in worry, and began heading her way. However, she surfaced and headed for the shore on her own so quickly that even he couldn't catch up to her. Still, he decided to leave the water as well. He wasn't sure whether it was only he who could now breathe underwater, but he didn't want to take any chances. "P-Please be careful. I'd h-hate if anything happened to y-you because of m-me. Here." He reached out his hand and placed it on top of Remeku's head. He then ran it down through her hair, absorbing as much of the wetness as he could. "That was neat, though."

---

Jay listened to Felicity's explanation and sighed. He and his brother hadn't even considered that people might show up late. "I guess it's something for us to consider for the future. Leave someone out to explain the situation, or at least leave a note behind. I'm really so-" Jay had to stop himself from apologizing yet again. Why did he and Felicity agree to this anyway? "...relieved that you trusted us enough to find your way here, rather than calling the police or something." Jay nodded when Felicity asked if this was Austin's work.

Jay would admit that seeing a large hairy person lumbering towards him would startle him too, but he'd put his trust in Austin so wasn't really scared when Gary came up. "Gary! Um, hi. How are you liking the change in form? Somethin' else, isn't it?"

Jay then turned back to Felicity with a look of concern, "Um, Felicity, is...is everything alright? Youi slept through the morning announcement and missed breakfast...I know you've been real busy lately and yesterday was quite the eventful day, but I feel like as your...well, um, anyway...please let me know if anything's bothering you or if you have any questions." Jay placed his left hand on Felicity's right shoulder to try to comfort her.

As Jeremy commented about having a fairy companion and becoming the Hero of Time, Lida tittered softly.

"I'm hardly a fairy companion. I couldn't well give advice on how to fight anything! If an enemy popped up, I'd probably hide instead of telling you what the enemy is," she said. And then he reached to pat her head with his finger. "A-ah! H-hold on a sec--"

As the finger patted against her tiny head, Lida looked thoughtful.

"Huh. I was worried for a second that that would hurt, but it didn't. So, good news!" She looked up. "Oooh! Hold on, this is so cool!" She reached up for his finger. "I can practically see all the lines and ridges that make up your fingerprint!"

--

Austin smiled as Sakura changed her appearance. It was great that everyone was having such a good time so far. Then Arthur walked in, and his design . . .

"So, you chose to be a Moon Elf, huh? I was hesitant to put Elves on the moon, who come to this world's Earth via starships, but then I realized it was the perfect opportunity to nod to Skies of Arcadia, and I couldn't not do it after that. Er, yeah . . . it's a bit jarring how much and how quickly people can change appearances, but it's okay to need some time."

And then Felicity entered. Austin was happy to see her, of course, and had begun walking toward her when she went to Jay and asked whether Austin's game was a dream, a nightmare, or a hallucination. Austin shuddered involuntarily and bit his lip to stop himself from making a noise.

Nightmare . . . .

Like the kind he'd been having every night since . . . the very things he had been working so tirelessly on this game to avoid. He hoped this didn't resemble a nightmare for her. The mere suggestion that it would troubled him so greatly, that even though he had been wanting to say something, his words seemed stuck in his throat. But then Jay began talking about how it was a dream come true and Austin chuckled, hoping it didn't sound forced.

"A-ah, that's overselling it a little, don'tcha think, Jay?" he asked. "But it is true to a point. I can code in whatever you'd like within reason."

As Felicity winced, Austin shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry about that. Er, but I assure you there is no harm being done to our physical bodies while we're in here. It's just like taking a nap. We should automatically log out in a few hours if we don't log out before that. Er, that is to say, a few hours in the real world. Here, time would normally pass at an accelerated rate. I froze it for now, though."

He nodded when Felicity asked if he was talking about this game when he mentioned working on an RPG.

"Yes, it is. But I didn't get around to incorporating Vampire subspecies yet. That's just another thing I need to update for the final version of this game."

Austin smiled when Gary asked if the world was amazing.

"I'm just glad you like it." Then Jay asked if Felicity was alright. Austin felt he shouldn't intrude on that part of the conversation, so he said, "Er, I got some admin things to take care of. I'll talk to you both soon." He started to step away from them and toward Alfons. And then Alfons commented that this game did not faze him. Austin offered him a smile and shrugged.

"Well, gee, it's a shame this doesn't impress you. Still, I hope you find a way to have fun here."

As Remeku fell into the water, Mikael poked his head out. "R-Remmy...!" he called out in worry, and began heading her way. However, she surfaced and headed for the shore on her own so quickly that even he couldn't catch up to her. Still, he decided to leave the water as well. He wasn't sure whether it was only he who could now breathe underwater, but he didn't want to take any chances. "P-Please be careful. I'd h-hate if anything happened to y-you because of m-me. Here." He reached out his hand and placed it on top of Remeku's head. He then ran it down through her hair, absorbing as much of the wetness as he could. "That was neat, though."

The feeling of Mikael's fingers running through her hair put a shiver down her spine as she blushed. "M-Mikey..! A-ah..." Remeku flinched as she closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. "U...uh....ummm.... W-w-why d-did y-you do that...?" Remeku asked not knowing the powers Mikael had. She looked down at her feet still a little shook by what Mikael did. "W-well, u-umm, I was wondering something, Mikey..." Remeku added fiddling with her fingers. "Would you want to be my partner for this world...? Y-you don't have to if you don't want to... i just wanted t-to ask..." Remeku looked at Mikael, face still red. She faintly smiled.

"A-Ah, you do not see anything unsightly do you? I have heard that zooming in on something can reveal some microscopic details...I mean...um, wow! Austin put that much detail into the character models? Impressive!" Jeremy stammered, trying to find the right words, before deciding to compliment Austin.

---

"Austin..." Jay muttered softly, noticing his somewhat awkward chuckle. 'Ah good, we'll log out automatically. That means we won't have a repeat of...that time...'"You really are the Ultimate Programmer! Oh, that's right--" Jay walked over to Austin and began explaining something to him. Jay had realized that Austin had never seen Jay's Wordsmith costume and wanted to describe it to him so Jay could pick it when the time came.

---

"R-Remmy...! I was just drying your hair, s-since I can control water now and all that, I mean..." Mikael said, trying to explain himself. It was 95% true. The other 5% was that something came over him, but he had no idea how to explain it. Was it this new form he'd taken on? The shock of being in a totally-different world? He took the time to regain his composure as she asked if he'd be her partner in the virtual world. "Ah~! Of course, I'd love to go around exploring with you!" Mikael didn't know why, but he was beginning to feel more confident in himself the more he stayed here.

"I think it looks very nice. There is nothing wrong with looking like royalty." He flashed a smile. Then he overheard Sayako mention this system as a dating sim. This caused Austin to chuckle softly.

"Well, I don't know about dating sim, but I did have someone in particular in mind when I made this world." His expression softened. "I had even designed a romantic spot for us if I -- If she ever plays this game when I finish it."

He seemed to stare off into space for a moment, then shook his head to jerk himself out of it. "Anyway, when the game is finished, it should be able to conform to aspects of any game genre you prefer. It should be able to become whatever you make it. Though it is still going to be classified as 'MMO RPG.' I still have to work on the combat, which is why that isn't available yet, and I need the game to be able to not crash if large numbers of people play at a time, which I don't think I have accomplished yet. There are also sensory things that glitch from time to time and . . . I'm rambling aren't I? Ehehehe . . . Sorry."

Sayako almost seemed to vibrate in place as Austin spoke about his 'someone in particular', but her goofy smile flickered when he brought up the battle system. "Ah, combat?" she blinked. "I, er, didn't realize that was a part of this game. I-it will be perfectly safe, though... right?"

KamiPanda wrote:

Sakura shook her head to the first question. "No, I'd never realised we could do anything even close to this. Like something straight out of an anime. You would think of a dating sim as a use-case, though." She added, giggling. "Though... ohh, just imagine how great this would be for long-distance couples! Forget dating sims, they could go on actual dates with each other, even from opposite ends of the Earth!"

"We should definitely have fun changing up our appearances, though! It'll be like cosplaying, but on a whole new level!" Sakura then said excitedly. She looked around at the new forms some of the others were taking, taking particular delight in Rosalida's minuscule appearance and Mikael's all-water body. Hearing that Gary was a werewolf, she glanced over and was surprised by the transformation - the extra height and hairiness made him look older than he was, an odd look for him. "Yeah, wow, just look at all this! Seems there's plenty of options to choose from, too."

She began flicking through the options on the handbook, keeping her choices a secret until they were finalised. Once set, she felt an odd sensation as her body changed and her brain struggled to keep up. She soon acclimatised, however, and did a small spin to show off her new appearance. She had chosen to be a dryad, a tree nymph, and so her skin had taken on a green tint, her hair had returned to its natural brown, and her ears had become pointed. Accenting the look were small pieces of bark around her body, and red and pink flowers woven into her hair to take the place of the dye. She still held the flower from before, and tucked it behind her ear with another giggle. "See, isn't this wonderful?" She exclaimed, holding her arms up to examine their new hue and the bark placed around them.

She gaped momentarily at Sakura's idea, then pressed her hands to her chest and squealed loudly. "Long-distance dating? Ahh, that's absolutely brilliant! No more being limited to phone calls or text messages when you're away from your loved ones; you could actually spend time with them in a virtual world! Oh, this could change everything we know about relationships!" She giggled to herself and hopped in place for a few moments, completely forgetting her trepidation about combat and now enthralled with the possibility of the virtual reality game functioning as an online dating system.

It didn't take long for Sayako to calm back down; once she had, she nodded enthusiastically to Sakura and watched the other girl choose her new form. She blinked in amazement at her transformation, then laughed happily. "Oh, wow... Somehow it really suits you," she murmured.

Then Arthur walked up to them. Or at least, someone who looked enough like Arthur that Sayako was fairly certain that's who it was. She smiled and nodded her head. "Oh, hello. You've already changed, I see. It looks good, how do you like it?" Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she spotted Felicity and was about to wave to her, but the Lucky Student decided to go in another direction, towards... ah. Sayako smiled softly to herself and took out her own handbook.

She hummed softly to herself as she scanned through the available choices. "Hmm... maybe I should just stick to being a human..." she mumbled, then immediately shook her head. "No, I should try to be a little more adventurous than that..." She quickly made her selections, and with a small flash, Sayako changed... a little. Her hair and eyes were now lilac-colored, she had large butterfly-like rainbow colored wings sprouting from her back, and pointed ears common to all fae, but she was still quite recognizable. Her outfit changed to a simple ankle-length sleeveless pink dress and brown gladiator sandals. She looked herself over, a small and unsure smile on her face.

"R-Remmy...! I was just drying your hair, s-since I can control water now and all that, I mean..." Mikael said, trying to explain himself. It was 95% true. The other 5% was that something came over him, but he had no idea how to explain it. Was it this new form he'd taken on? The shock of being in a totally-different world? He took the time to regain his composure as she asked if he'd be her partner in the virtual world. "Ah~! Of course, I'd love to go around exploring with you!" Mikael didn't know why, but he was beginning to feel more confident in himself the more he stayed here.

Remeku nodded in response of what Mikael was saying. I guess being water is weird. I wonder if I can make a potion for that. You seem a lot more confident when your like this and in this new world... so maybe, I can make a potion for you so you always have this feeling. It's nice to see you so confident, It's a nice side of you!" Remeku said smiling. She patted Mikael on the head witch gave her hand a weird feeling. I hope you're always like this..." Remeku said quietly.

Mikael considered Remeku's words for a moment. "Mhm, y-you're right. Becoming a being of water energy is certainly a strange feeling. If-If I'm not focusing at least a little bit on this form, I'll just f-fall right back into a puddle. I c-could say similar a-about your form though. B-Being in tune with darkness must feel odd." Mikael took another few seconds to think, idly sprinkling some water from his hands onto some nearby flowers. "A-And I don't think it's this shape I took that's made me more c-confident; i-it's more that, after what I heard...um, well, I d-decided I needed to be the best friend I could be! You...w-won't be alone anymore, Remmy. I p-promise. Hehe~!"'A-Ah, I giggled again. Way to ruin the moment...'

Remeku stared at Mikael in shock. I won't be lonely....anymore...? How does he know I was ever lonely in the first place...? Its not like he remem- It dawned on her. Did he remember something? "How do you know.... I..... M-Mikey...." Remeku looked down at her feet, unable to speak normal words.

Mikael's eyes widened. "Eh? W-W-What...? 'How did I know'? O-Oh, no, I d-didn't mean...y-you have Mr. Lata and Miss Moon, don't you? I-It was w-wrong of me to s-say you were alone," Mikael stammered, quickly trying to salvage the situation, "U-Unless...th-they aren't enough. I d-don't mean to presume, but it j-just s-seemed l-like..." He had trouble putting his last thought into words. "Something's still b-bothering you, isn't it? Even though you a-aren't alone, i-it still f-feels like you are? Am I c-close?"

"...A-Austin?" She asked as the programmer spoke to them. She recognised his voice and he looked somewhat the same, but it still came as an absolute shock to see him like this.

Quote:

"I'm sorry about that. Er, but I assure you there is no harm being done to our physical bodies while we're in here. It's just like taking a nap. We should automatically log out in a few hours if we don't log out before that. Er, that is to say, a few hours in the real world. Here, time would normally pass at an accelerated rate. I froze it for now, though."

Once he finished explaining what was happening to their physical bodies, Felicity managed to say, "A-Alright then. Log out automatically... that's perfectly fine. Just a few hours..."

Slezak wrote:

Jay listened to Felicity's explanation and sighed. He and his brother hadn't even considered that people might show up late. "I guess it's something for us to consider for the future. Leave someone out to explain the situation, or at least leave a note behind. I'm really so-" Jay had to stop himself from apologizing yet again. Why did he and Felicity agree to this anyway? "...relieved that you trusted us enough to find your way here, rather than calling the police or something." Jay nodded when Felicity asked if this was Austin's work.

She turned to Jay. "Nice save. But you still need to not attempt to apologise for something that isn't really your fault. I mean, I'm the one who woke up this late, after all, and I'm also the one who sucks at using the handbook if you put a message there."

Slezak wrote:

Jay then turned back to Felicity with a look of concern, "Um, Felicity, is...is everything alright? Youi slept through the morning announcement and missed breakfast...I know you've been real busy lately and yesterday was quite the eventful day, but I feel like as your...well, um, anyway...please let me know if anything's bothering you or if you have any questions." Jay placed his left hand on Felicity's right shoulder to try to comfort her.

"You feel like what?" She asked him. "Anyway, y-you don't need to be worried. I-I just... slept late and didn't really get proper sleep." From the corner of her eye, she watched Sayako transform into a fairy. Reading about magical creatures was one thing; watching people turn into them was a totally different one.

As Jay went to talk with Austin, she took in deep breaths to calm herself. ' This is virtual reality. Of course everybody's going to do stuff with that. Just because your today started off on the wrong foot...' She took her handbook and switched it on, pressing 'Start'. The hologram greeted her. 'Maybe this'll be better if I actually try to join in...'

Felicity immediately went for the Fae species, slowly scrolling through the subspecies list as she saw how each one was. Suddenly, she let out an gasp and mumbled to herself, tapping the screen faster. A minute later, she paused, looking thoughtful. She removed her hairbands and let her hair loose, looking at the change in her avatar. Whatever Felicity saw seemed to satisfy her, and she clicked to confirm her choice. Doing so made a weird warm feeling spread through her and she shut her eyes. It felt like wind was wrapping around her.

When she finally opened her eyes, she felt peculiarly light. Glancing down, she looked the same as she always had. But glance back and, yes, she had wings. Grey ones, shaped like a butterfly's, that fluttered a bit. "Wh-what? I-I actually have wings?!" She turned to Austin. "Are these just-for-show kinda wings, or are they actual ones - well, as actual as you can get here? Also, on a totally different note, could I know if there was anywhere specific you took this form from?"

Last edited by DarkAgea on Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

Gary did a sheepish laugh. "Well, I suppose you're right, Felicity. But sometimes you can't really be sure if I'm a werewolf or not. And yet, there's always one way of knowing someone's a werewolf... One that's obvious and everyone know what that is... A full moon. I mean, in films and telly shows that does have werewolves in them, they transforms when there's a full moon, right?" He shrugs before he turns to Jay Slezak.

"To be honestly, it's really weird. Seeing as how the extra height and hairiness made me looks older than I really was... Like I'm a adult, even though I'm still 18 years old." Gary said in response to Jay Slezak.

Mikael's eyes widened. "Eh? W-W-What...? 'How did I know'? O-Oh, no, I d-didn't mean...y-you have Mr. Lata and Miss Moon, don't you? I-It was w-wrong of me to s-say you were alone," Mikael stammered, quickly trying to salvage the situation, "U-Unless...th-they aren't enough. I d-don't mean to presume, but it j-just s-seemed l-like..." He had trouble putting his last thought into words. "Something's still b-bothering you, isn't it? Even though you a-aren't alone, i-it still f-feels like you are? Am I c-close?"

Remeku sighed before trying to speak "well... I met Lumica 1 and a half years ago, at an anime convention. I ran into her and she was nice enough to forgive me... Then I saw her last semester and was surprised that she went to the same school as me. I met her by accident, it wasn't intentional. I talked to my brother but I only saw him once a week every week of every year that went by. My parents... They.... Hated me.... So.... I didn't really have anyone in the first place... So yeah. You were close..." Remeku looked down ashamed to have to tell Mikael this.

After Felicity said Jay shouldn't try to apologize for something that wasn't his fault, he responded, "Yeah, I understand that. Still, nobody should have to walk in on such a frightening scene and just go on faith that everyone will be alright. I still feel somewhat bad about that, and that it was a bit irresponsible to not leave one person behind for at least a little while. But...you're here now and everything's alright, so I'll put it behind me and just remember for next time."

Jay smiled to try to reassure her, but the smile faltered when she said he had nothing to worry about. "Felicity, thinking about it some more, I was going to say 'as your boyfriend...' but that doesn't make a difference. I'd still care about you just as much whether or not we were together. I should trust you. I do trust you. But that's why I'm getting so worked up over it happening just once." He wanted to say more, but that's when he noticed Austin and decided to talk to him for a moment.

---

"R-Remmy..." Mikael muttered as she explained to him that he was close with his assertion. "S-So Lumica was an 'accidental' friend? B-But why would she need to forgive you? You didn't d-do anything wrong. You've...n-never done anythi-" Mikael cupped his hand over his mouth. How could he make such a bold claim? And yet, Mikael had felt like it was the right thing to say. He placed a hand on her shoulder, then the other, and admitted in a desperate voice, "I...Some of the th-things you've t-told me have hit me h-harder than I thought they w-would. I've s-said and done some things that im-imply I know what y-you're going through. But I don't...I don't understand, Remmy. I-It's gotta b-be more than j-just c-coincidence, b-but I think back and there's...n-nothing. N-No c-connection to justify why I f-feel the way I do. I don't kn-know anything a-about you, b-but you m-mean a lot to me...a-and I feel like I should believe in you." Just then, a single drop of water fell from Mikael's face. Then another, and another. "Oh dear. I-I'm leaking..." Mikael uttered in a barely-audible voice. Hm, was it just Mikael, or was the sky directly above him and only him beginning to cloud up?

---

After returning from his talk with Austin, Jay noticed Felicity in human-sized fairy form with her hair down. He gasped in awe. He wouldn't be able to explain exactly why he didn't have that reaction to Flo, or even Sayako changing into fairies. Maybe it was because Felicity let her hair down, and it was a look he'd just never seen before? "Wow, you look fantastic with your hair down! And yes, I believe those wings actually allow you to fly! Man, I almost want to try out a different species myself, but...my brother and I, we gotta stick to our roots. Plus, we'll have plenty of time to try new species when the game is closer to completion." Jay had been smiling, but there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes. He let his smile drop as he finally remembered what he was going to say before he went to talk to Austin. "Felicity, I...really missed you over break. I know I said I'd be fine and you should go see your friends, but...the whole time you were gone, it felt like something was missing. I thought I was just feeling down because of what happened last summer, which is why I decided to seek therapy, but...that wasn't it. I considered getting a phone right then and there, but I'd have had no way to contact you anyway. I'm so glad to have you back!" Jay stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Felicity, hugging her as much as he could. As his hand grazed her wings, he flinched slightly, putting his hands on her back instead. It was an awkward position, but Jay wasn't really sure how else to handle the wings being in the way.

"R-Remmy..." Mikael muttered as she explained to him that he was close with his assertion. "S-So Lumica was an 'accidental' friend? B-But why would she need to forgive you? You didn't d-do anything wrong. You've...n-never done anythi-" Mikael cupped his hand over his mouth. How could he make such a bold claim? And yet, Mikael had felt like it was the right thing to say. He placed a hand on her shoulder, then the other, and admitted in a desperate voice, "I...Some of the th-things you've t-told me have hit me h-harder than I thought they w-would. I've s-said and done some things that im-imply I know what y-you're going through. But I don't...I don't understand, Remmy. I-It's gotta b-be more than j-just c-coincidence, b-but I think back and there's...n-nothing. N-No c-connection to justify why I f-feel the way I do. I don't kn-know anything a-about you, b-but you m-mean a lot to me...a-and I feel like I should believe in you." Just then, a single drop of water fell from Mikael's face. Then another, and another. "Oh dear. I-I'm leaking..." Mikael uttered in a barely-audible voice. Hm, was it just Mikael, or was the sky directly above him and only him beginning to cloud up?

Remeku began to cry. She didn't know what came over her and why she would be so accepting as to letting her feelings out. "Mikey.... I'm sorry... You don't have to worry about me... I don't matter... You worry about you... Because when people worry about me.... They only get hurt... I don't want you to get hurt... That's why I was okay with being alone when I was younger... Because others wouldn't get hurt... Only I would...." Remeku's elf ears drooped down like a sad rabbit. She chose a good element for herself... Darkness was a good way to describe how she was feeling.

"R-R-R-Remmy...!" Mikael was left speechless after Remeku's hopeless speech. He tried to find some words, but all he could think of was, "W-What am I s-supposed t-to s-say to th-that? I-I-I..." He looked down and noticed the puddle around him was increasing in size. He needed to focus, so he tensed up and inhaled sharply, holding his breath for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and imagined himself back in the lake, becoming in-tune with the water to relax himself. A gust of chilly wind returned him to the present, where he looked down to discover he'd re-absorbed all the water. "R-Remmy, listen," Mikael stated calmly as he gently grabbed her arm, "H-How can you s-say it w-would only b-be you who is hurting? I t-told you I'd b-be y-your friend...e-even m-more than that; y-your sidekick. I-I'm not j-just hurting b-because I c-care about you. I-It's m-more like...t-to see you hurting so badly...so unhappy...i-it's unfair, Remmy. S-So...as your sidekick, I'm g-going to do all I can to h-help you through this. I-I-If y-you w-want me to be h-happy, d-don't let my efforts be in v-vain. I-It may take a while, but I p-promise you we will g-get through this t-together. D-Do you trust me?" Mikael held out his free hand for a handshake, awaiting Remeku's answer.

Remeku looked down at Mikael's hand. She felt stupid for saying that. Why would she say that? She didn't know what to say at the time. She hated seeing people wasting their energy on her. She sniffled softly and place her hand in his. "O-of course I trust you. More than anyone... Y-yeah... Heh..." Remeku looked up at Mikael suddenly having a little bit of confidence back. She held Mikael's hand firmly and smiled her normal playfully evil smile. "I'm proud to have you as my sidekick, sire. Thou shall explore the universe with thee. For it is better to travel on the world with four feet than two." Remeku smiled at Mikael brightly, wiping the tears that she ounce had. "Th-thank you... Mikey..." Remeku's voice was shaky and soft. She was still trying to be confident at the same time she was trying to calm down.

She hummed softly to herself as she scanned through the available choices. "Hmm... maybe I should just stick to being a human..." she mumbled, then immediately shook her head. "No, I should try to be a little more adventurous than that..." She quickly made her selections, and with a small flash, Sayako changed... a little. Her hair and eyes were now lilac-colored, she had large butterfly-like rainbow colored wings sprouting from her back, and pointed ears common to all fae, but she was still quite recognizable. Her outfit changed to a simple ankle-length sleeveless pink dress and brown gladiator sandals. She looked herself over, a small and unsure smile on her face.

Sakura gasped. "Oooh, lilac, of course! It's perfect!" She said, clapping her hands together and nodding in approval. "Cute wings, too. Do they work?" She then asked, mirroring Felicity's query. "Now there's another use for a virtual world like this, just imagine actually flying around using your own wings, gazing down at the world all around you... well, now I almost regret my choice! But there's always next time; something to look forward to later, I suppose."

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum